Eleven of the 17 investors who collected the documents as part of the call for expressions of interest have submitted proposals to the government's privatisation unit.

The government announced the call on 20 June, and since then 139 requests for information were received, following which 17 investors collected the documents pertaining to the government's plans for the area.

The potential investors had up to 30 September to request any clarifications, with the privatisation unit committed to reply by 15 October. The closing date for submission of proposals was today.

The next step, the government said, is the setting up of a committee that will evaluate the proposals and prepare a report with recommendations to the government.

Economy Minister Chris Cardona expressed his satisfaction that the government’s initiative was received so well.

The high number of proposals encouraged the government to continue working towards implementing the project in an area that has been neglected for too many years, he said.